There have been times in my life when I have felt like a failure. Times when I know I could have done better, but for some reason decided it wasn’t worth the struggle. Times when I just quit.
Failure tastes like ass. It makes me feel devalued, lazy, and, in some cases, even insensitive. At the same time, when I look back at my decisions, there are very few that I would change. Sometimes quitting is all you have in order to move forward in life.
In terms of jobs, I just quit mine (last day is tomorrow), but after investing 8 years on my career at that company, I can’t think of this new stage in my life as anything other than a huge triumph. I have finally proved to myself that I can take risks and I will be able to stop wondering “what if.” This “quit” was all about one thing: turning down complacency. I must admit the feeling of failure in this case is quite minimal.
In terms of hobbies, I quit mine all the time. I just can’t excuse sticking to something I no longer enjoy just for the sake of not quitting. At the same time, it makes me wonder whether I’m really that much of a flake. The feeling of failure is “Medium” in these cases.
In terms of friendships, you have an added element in the mix: someone else’s feelings. Do I regret quitting on certain toxic friendships? No… Usually it all works out for the best anyway, and whatever is meant to be is meant to be. However, the urgency to “break up” is usually unilateral, which makes me feel like crap for choosing to be selfish and guarding my own feelings over the other person’s. This situation gets a HIGH/HOT/Five rotten tomatoes rating for feeling like a failure. After all, if I can’t even keep my own friends from hating me, then what does that say about me?
Quitting… Such a simple word; so many different ways to feel about it.
ina